‘Everyone is proud of it’: dismay in Halifax at Lloyds’ threat to historic brand

The bank, formerly a building society, has carried the name of the Yorkshire town since 1853 and most locals think it should be preserved

On a moody afternoon, near the sandstone terraces of Halifax’s Gibbet street, David Glover, a local historian, is opening the gates to Lister Lane cemetery.

Usually closed to the public, the burial ground is being opened today as an exception. Because here, among towering spires and the tombs of wealthy industrialists, lie the founders of one of West Yorkshire’s most famous exports: Halifax building society.